Can Shoes Be Too Comfortable?

The age of the max-cushioned shoe may be very much upon us. And for those who’re as much of a fan of a tall stack of froth underfoot as I’m, it’s possible that you simply’ve lovingly described wearing your favorite sneaks as feeling such as you’re “walking on pillows.” But as we enter the era of super-soft footwear, it begs the query: Can shoes be too comfortable?

Unfortunately, cushion lovers, it might be time for a reality check. “The issue with walking on pillows is that our body was not designed to [do that],” says Liza Egbogah, DC, DOMP, a posture expert with her own collection of orthopedic shoes. “If you happen to take into consideration walking on an actual pillow, your ankles are going to roll in, it’s hard to balance, and also you’re going to feel a strain in your knees and your back. Because most individuals are overpronators, the final thing they need is a shoe that looks like a pillow because that’s going to intensify the [rolling inward of your foot toward your arch].”

Encouraging overpronation is only the start—listed below are the downsides of wearing shoes which can be too comfortable

The human foot is designed to walk barefoot on surfaces like soil, says Dr. Egbogah. In our modern age, cushion is vital to act as a shock absorber when walking or standing on harder surfaces, but an excessive amount of of it, and also you begin to lose the support and stability you wish underfoot for correct balance.

You furthermore may run the chance of losing strength within the muscles and ligaments on the bottoms of your feet. “Once you have got those really cushioned shoes, people begin to depend on them because your personal body isn’t doing the work to stabilize or strengthen,” says Suzanne Fuchs, DPM, a podiatric surgeon in Florida. “The foot muscles turn into weaker over time, which could cause a decrease in the peak of the arch of the foot.”

When those weakened feet find themselves not in cushioned shoes—like walking barefoot on hardwood floors—they can be more liable to plantar fasciitis, a painful inflammation of the tissue on the underside of the foot that connects the heel bone to the toes, says Dr. Fuchs. Though putting those sneakers back on may temporarily relieve the pain, Dr. Egbogah says that the shortage of support may cause the plantar fascia to twist and strain, resulting in more inflammation.

An excessive amount of cushion can even compromise our control, balance, and proprioception (your ability to sense where your body is in space), says Dr. Fuchs, which may lead to an increased risk of ankle sprains. (Dr. Egbogah says she saw an uptick in ankle and foot fractures through the pandemic, which she attributes to people forgoing their more supportive formal shoes in favor of wearing cushiony sneakers on a regular basis.) The exacerbated overpronation that may include super-cushioned shoes can even put pressure on the inside the knees, and cause hip and back pain further up the leg, says Dr. Egbogah.

Given this, it is not surprising to find that overly cushioned shoes may be especially problematic for many who already overpronate. Dr. Egbogah says even those with an ideal gait could see issues like metatarsalgia, weakened arches, and misalignment. “It might push your whole posture forward since you’re sinking into the shoes,” she says. “You possibly can have the identical issues with back pain and knee pain, even for those who don’t have overpronation.”

How one can tell in case your shoes are too comfortable

Not all cushioning is bad—in truth, you very much need some cushion for shock absorption, especially for those who’re running or jumping, standing on hard surfaces, or have high arches. But how much is just too much? There are a couple of easy ways to inform: For one, if you put your foot into the shoe, it shouldn’t feel like your foot is sinking into it—you must feel some resistance and support, says Dr. Egbogah. (She likens it to the sensation of sitting on a firm mattress with a soft topper.)

If you happen to feel more unstable or unbalanced after putting on the shoe, or like there’s an increased load on either side of your ankles, that’s probably a red flag, too, says Dr. Fuchs, as is a shoe that’s each super cushiony and heavy, as that combination can result in much more instability.

You furthermore may shouldn’t have the option to simply bend your shoe in half, or twist it like a towel. And for those who push your thumb into the insole for a couple of seconds and it leaves an imprint slightly than retaining its shape, that’s an indication the froth is just too squishy, says Dr. Egbogah.

While you’ll be able to sometimes judge a shoe by the thickness of the cushion, the quality of the froth is what’s really necessary. “The cheaper foams are those where you actually sink in, versus a high-density, good-quality foam that has spring-back,” says Dr. Egbogah. Most running shoe brands—Nike, Recent Balance, Brooks, Asics, Saucony, etc—are typically a protected bet, she says, since those firms use higher-quality foam (like EVA) that’s been performance-tested. But these rules apply to any style of shoe, not only sneakers. As a general rule, anything that’s labeled an orthopedic shoe can also be a superb option, Dr. Egobogah says, as those are designed to supply sufficient support.

And cushion addicts, fear not. Wearing your pillowy shoes every occasionally probably isn’t going to harm you. “It’s absolutely okay to wear your pillowy, fluffy shoes for those who’re just in your feet for 10 or quarter-hour—they’re not going to cause everlasting damage.”